Who Is the Sankranti Winner at the Tollywood Box Office?
For the first time ever, as many as five straight Telugu films competed at the box office in Tollywood this season. Usually, Sankranti would see two big-budget films along with one or two mid-range budget films. But this time, unlike the past, intense competition emerged at the box office. Among the films released this Sankranti, the big-budget movies include Raja Saab, starring pan-India hero Prabhas, which stands in the front row. The second big-budget film is Mana Shankar Varaprasad Garu, starring Chiranjeevi and Nayanthara. However, there is a difference here. Along with a star cast, Raja Saab has huge sets and high production expenses. But when it comes to Chiranjeevi’s Mana Shankar Varaprasad Garu, it is being said that most of the budget went towards remunerations, and compared to Raja Saab, the production cost of this film is much lower.
On the other hand, Tollywood talk suggests that Chiranjeevi took a remuneration of ₹70 crore for this film. It is also said that Venkatesh and Nayanthara received close to ₹10 crore each for their roles in Mana Shankar Varaprasad Garu. Director Anil Ravipudi, who has been delivering consecutive hits, is also said to have taken a remuneration of over ₹25 crore. Many are saying that most of the expenditure for this film went entirely towards remunerations. The first movie to reach audiences this Sankranti season was Raja Saab. Directed by Maruthi, this film started receiving negative talk right from the first day first show. Although Prabhas’s action was good, the director failed to make the film engaging, which affected its performance. Since this was Prabhas’s first film in the horror-comedy genre, expectations were initially very high. However, the film failed to live up to those expectations. Considering Prabhas’s stamina, the collections are said to be decent. The film unit has already announced that the movie has collected over ₹225 crore gross worldwide.
Coming to Mana Shankar Varaprasad Garu, starring Chiranjeevi, the film received positive talk right from its premieres. Even though the story does not have anything big, Chiranjeevi’s stylish look and the way director Anil Ravipudi handled the narration worked out well. Especially the comedy and the roles of Venkatesh and Nayanthara made a good impact. As a result, the film is creating a sensation at the box office in terms of collections. The film unit officially announced that the movie collected ₹152 crore gross within three days. Along with Chiranjeevi fans, it is also attracting female audiences in a big way. With this, the movie has earned hit talk.
Among the big-budget films, Mana Shankar Varaprasad Garu stands in first place, followed by Prabhas’s Raja Saab in second place. Among the remaining three films, senior hero Ravi Teja’s movie has a slightly higher budget compared to the other two. Ravi Teja, who has been struggling without a proper hit for some time, received good talk for his Sankranti film Bharta Mahashayulaku Vignapthi. A new side of Ravi Teja was seen in this film, and he impressed with his performance. Even though the film is genuinely good, it appears to have failed to attract audiences for some reason. Aashika Ranganath and Dimple Hayathi, who acted opposite Ravi Teja, created good buzz. On the morning of January 14, Anaganaga Oka Raju, starring Naveen Polishetty, was released, and in the evening, Naari Naari Naduma Murari, starring Sharwanand, came before audiences.
The key point here is that both these films received good talk. Both movies entertained audiences well in terms of story and comedy. When comparing the two, it must be said that Naari Naari Naduma Murari, starring Sharwanand, stands ahead of Anaganaga Oka Raju, starring Naveen Polishetty. However, since Anaganaga Oka Raju, starring Naveen Polishetty and Meenakshi Chaudhary, was produced by Sitara Entertainments, the film was strongly taken to the audience. Added to this, Naveen Polishetty’s promotions also worked well. Naari Naari Naduma Murari, which released without much expectations, is entertaining audiences with strong positive talk.
In terms of box office collections, there is no doubt that the Sankranti winner is Mana Shankar Varaprasad Garu, directed by Anil Ravipudi, which stands in first place. In terms of story and entertainment, Naari Naari Naduma Murari stands in second place. However, in terms of collections, Anaganaga Oka Raju stands in second place ahead of it. Ravi Teja’s Bharta Mahashayulaku Vignapthi goes to fourth place. Since Prabhas’s film belongs to a different genre, it has not been included in this comparison. Overall, the Sankranti winners stand in the following order: first place Mana Shankar Varaprasad Garu, followed by Naari Naari Naduma Murari, Anaganaga Oka Raju, and Bharta Mahashayulaku Vignapthi.
